Things Are Never What They First Seem
by Wacko the Sane
Summary: Harry is having a weird summer. Things keep turning up where and when he least expects them. What is he going to do? R


**Confronting Fears**

A dark object swooped over the moon, and landed with a gentle flop on the bedroom floor of a boy. A tallish, skinny boy with jet black hair, bright green eyes and a lightening bolt scar slashed across his forehead. Harry Potter pulled the covers off his head, wiped his eyes on the pillow corner and tip-toed over to Hedwig who was looking extremely pleased with her catch of a small rabbit, she clucked her beak at him and nibbled the sleeve of his pyjamas. Harry smiled and climbed back into bed, falling into a night-mare ridden sleep once more.

A shrill scream woke him again a couple of hours later, Harry wandered onto the landing and looked from the top of the stairs on a scene that made his eyes widen with horror. Dudley Dursley his own cousin lying blood-stained by the cupboard under the stairs. Harry's Uncle Vernon came hurtling down the stairs.

"Petunia! What's happened?" Uncle Vernon shouted hoarsely at Aunt Petunia who was clutching the stair banister, quivering in terror. He knelt over the body of his son, his face reddening, eyes blossoming, he turned his head to look at Harry standing wide-eyed above him. "You! What have you done? This is...is the work of a w...w...you know what! What have you done?"

Aunt Petunia peered up at Harry, her ghostly white face was beyond tears. "I haven't done anything!" Harry yelled, "I've been in my room all night! Is he...is he?"

"Of course he is boy! Why else would he be lying covered in blood! Petunia, darling where did you find him?"

Aunt Petunia lifted a shaking hand and pointed at the cupboard under the stairs, "He was in there Vernon, I just opened it to find my duster, and, and..." She burst into uncontrollable sobs.

Harry stared at his cousin's body, it couldn't be happening, he thought he was safe here; 'her blood became your refuge' Dumbledore had said only last week, and now it looked as if he had no-where to hide. Was Voldemort trying to attack all he had for a family to get to him? Although Harry had never appreciated Dudley this touched something, somewhere inside him, a burning anger took over him. "He can't! I won't let him!"

Vernon and Petunia stared up at him, bemused. "Look outside," Harry shouted, "is there a skull with a snake coming out of its mouth above the house?" Uncle Vernon opened the front door and walked slowly out onto the lawn, after a few seconds he came back in and shook his head. It was Harry's turn to be bemused; Death Eaters liked people to know they were at large, if they'd killed Dudley then why hadn't they used the Dark Mark? There was a loud creak behind him, Harry jumped.

"What's for breakfast?" yawned the corpulent figure waddling across the landing. He laughed loudly at the astonished look on their faces and there was a loud crack as his blood-stained body in the hallway disappeared. Harry chuckled, relieved "Of course; a boggart!"

"What are you laughing at boy? Why was my son lying dead there one minute and hungry for his breakfast the next?" Uncle Vernon demanded of Harry. He held the kitchen door open for his wife who hurried pale-faced in to prepare Dudley's breakfast, he waddled in a moment later. "Well?"

Harry sprinted to his room and pulled from his trunk a well-thumbed copy of _**The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection** by Quentin Trimble._ Glossing over the index, he turned to page 196 and ran down the stairs to Uncle Vernon. "There, look," he pointed at the top of the page marked, _**Boggarts** – projecting your worst fears, _"read that." Vernon scanned the page and thrust the book at Harry's chest.

"And what was a bob... bogga doing in my house?"

"Don't ask me, it probably just wanted somewhere clean and warm." He walked into the kitchen and began to butter a slice of toast, at least his worst fears were over, for now at any rate, but was he set for an even more eventful summer?

**A/N: Random idea, if anyone's interested in me continuing it please shout because there's not much point to it, reviews always welcome though! I know it's very very short!**


End file.
